TfL Target of 1 million speeding offence intended prosecutions by 2024
Request ID: FOI-4614-2324 Date published: 15 May 2024
You asked
I refer to your webpage here: https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/safety-and-security/road-safety/safe-speeds, in which TfL states the following:
The Metropolitan Police enforces speed limits across most of London's roads. We work with the police to increase their capacity to take enforcement action against drivers and riders who speed. The Met is currently on target to be able to take action on a million speeding offences by 2024. In 2022/23, they enforced 686,865 speeding offences, an increase of 44% compared to the previous year.
Please provide me with the documentation, including minutes of meetings, setting out this target of 1 million speeding offence "actions" by 2024 and the name of the body and civil servants who set this target.
Please also provide the documentation, including meeting minutes, setting out why TfL decided this objective of intended prosecution of 1 million drivers by 2024 in London was not subject to public consultation.
We answered
Our Ref: FOI-4614-2324
Thank you for your request received on 18 March 2024 asking for information about the speeding offence prosecution target.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and our information access policy. I can confirm we do hold the information you require.
Unfortunately, to provide the information you have requested would exceed the ‘appropriate limit’ of £450 set by the Freedom of Information (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004.
Under section 12 of the FOI Act, we are not obliged to comply with a request if we estimate that the cost of determining whether we hold the information, locating and retrieving it and extracting it from other information would exceed the appropriate limit. This is calculated at £25 per hour for every hour spent on the activities described.
We have estimated that it would cost over £450 to provide a response to your current request. This is because it is estimated that it would take in excess of 18 working hours to retrieve and compile the information you have requested.
The objective is for the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to have the capacity to prosecute speeding offences which is achieved by activities such as increasing the number of staff processing speed offences and supporting implementation of more efficient working practices. This is delivered through a combination of TfL funding, as well as reinvestment of the proportion of speed awareness course income which comes back to TfL; this is used to help offset the costs of London’s extensive safety camera operation including police enforcement. TfL also part funds the MPS Roads Transport Policing Command (RTPC) which has circa 2,000 officers to ensure that there is a focus on all TfL priorities such as Vision Zero and transport crime. TfL provides a safe, secure, reliable and green service which the MPS helps support the delivery of. The number of people being prosecuted will depend on the number of those drivers breaking the law by speeding.
The objective of having this capacity will have been discussed at various forums that we have had with the MPS, not all of which would have been minuted, as well as within TfL. However, to identify, locate, and extract any and all of the information relevant to your request would require a manual review of a significant volume of material as there is no way to directly report on this specific information. Please also note that were you able to sufficiently refine your request some information may need to be considered for any applicable exemptions.
To help bring the cost of responding to your request within the £450 limit, you may wish to consider narrowing its scope so that we can more easily locate, retrieve and extract the information you are seeking. If you want to refine your request or make a FOI Act request in future, please bear in mind that the Freedom of Information Act allows you to request recorded information held by us. You should identify the information that you want as clearly and concisely as you can, specifying the types of document that you are looking for. You might also consider limiting your request to specific questions you have which we may be able to process within the appropriate limits rather than a wide request for documents.
Although your request can take the form of a question, rather than a request for specific documents, we do not have to answer your question if it would require the creation of new information or the provision of a judgement, explanation, advice or opinion that was not already recorded at the time of your request.
Please note that we will not be taking further action until we receive your revised request.
In the meantime, if you have any queries or would like to discuss your request, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely
Gemma Jacob Senior FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
